GMC Sierra 3500HD Regular Cab Truck Review
Truck Reviewer
A lot of manufacturers like to use terms like “heavy-duty” to convince us their offering is up to the task. With the GMC Sierra 3500HD Regular Cab you don’t need a lot of convincing – just looking at it tells you they aren’t messing around. Built on an incredibly rigid chassis, with uprated suspension to carry more of whatever you need, this is a seriously big, powerful pickup. We think it’s a very smart looking beast too – but that’s secondary to its main purpose – which is undoubtedly hauling. This isn’t some lightweight, built to tow a small boat occasionally, this is a serious professionals workhorse. It’s capacities bear that out with maximum payload for the eight-foot long load bed of 6,635 lbs with the dual rear-wheel, 2-wheel drive option (it can also have 4-wheel drive and/or single rear-wheels). Maximum trailering, with gooseneck or fifth-wheel, is an enormous 21,700 lbs. Perhaps remarkably, given the amount of brute strength the GMC Sierra 3500HD Regular Cab delivers, it’s also a more than reasonable vehicle to drive. The suspension isn’t just there to handle the weight, it does a good job of making the steering precise and manageable too – even when empty – which is often a downfall of full-size trucks.
Once you’ve got it full of gear, or hitched up to something sizable, you’ll need to know it can make decent progress. For a lot of people the standard gas-powered 6.0 liter V8 will be quite enough, but if you really are going to push its limits on a regular basis you’ll be wanting the 6.6 liter turbo-diesel V8 and its 765 lb-ft of torque. With that under the hood the GMC Sierra 3500HD Regular Cab is a quick vehicle any way you measure it. For a big, heavy truck it’s plain awesome. Both motors use six-speed transmissions, with a beefed up Allison 1000 unit handling the diesel’s considerable output. You won’t be shocked to hear that inside the cabin it’s not luxury sedan style. The entry level Work Truck trim level is precisely that – all work, no play. That’s not to say it’s uncomfortable, noisy or cheaply done – it’s none of those things. Purposeful would be the best description. Go for the slightly upscale SLE trim for your GMC Sierra 3500HD Regular Cab and you can add CD/MP3 to the base model’s AM/FM radio, cruise control and power windows but it remains utilitarian unless you start spending on extras.
There are, as you would expect, a wealth of safety features. Not just air bags and ABS but you can also have trailer brake, sway and traction control, all of which give additional ability to the package and confidence to the driver. All in all the GMC Sierra 3500HD Regular Cab is an excellent pickup for those who really need to move large loads. There is plenty of competition in this market, it’s tough to come out on top. Nevertheless, in many ways the GMC Sierra 3500HD Regular Cab is undoubtedly the best choice.
(1 Users voted, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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